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Sun Volt

Sun Volt Solar

earth, the final frontier

Clean Energy, Clean Environment

We are at a cross roads in human history, we can choose to continue on as we have been, or we can make a change to improve our future and quite possibly the future for several generations to come. We are here to promote energy independence, a better environment, a secure future and a higher return on investment for your hard earned dollar. It is what I believe in, it is why I am in the solar business.

Tools for the solar installer, Thermal and hot water systems

29 Apr 09 | Solar Hot Water

Solar thermal installers deal with a different set of tools than Photovoltaic.  Most solar thermal systems rely on some type of plumbing and pump system to move heat transfer fluid through a set of panels and back to a storage tank.  Solar thermal panels are generally larger and heavier than photovoltaics.  Drainback systems need to have all of the pipe slope back to the drainback reservoir.  All of these considerations require different expertise and working requirements.

Most solar thermal installations are placed on a south facing roof.  Often, a bit of carpentry is required to attach the solar collectors to the roof.  This is a basic list of power and hand tools for solar thermal installations:

  1. Claw hammer
  2. Small pry bar
  3. Hand tools including a full set of standard sockets, wrenches and screwdrivers, needle nose pliers, diagonal cutters, etc.
  4. Medium and large pipe wrenches
  5. Medium and large channel lock pliers
  6. Vice grips
  7. 18 volt cordless drill
  8. Jig saw or reciprocating saw (AKA Sawzall)
  9. Hack saw
  10. Tubing cutter
  11. Right angle drill
  12. Spade type drill bit set
  13. Drill bit set
  14. Digital Volt Ohm Meter (DVOM)
  15. MAPP gas torch, preferably something with a built in igniter
  16. Pipe cleaning supplies, flux, solder, etc
  17. Ridgid propress crimping tool
  18. 24 foot fiber glass extension ladder
  19. Small transfer pump
  20. Extension cords
  21. Work lights
  22. Garden hose, short and long lengths, plus Female/Female end adaptors
  23. Personal safety equipment such as safety climbing harness, safety glasses, heavy work gloves, etc.

In addition to the above tools, having all of the fittings and valves available on the truck saves a lot of time.  I always buy extra fittings because I know that I will eventually use them.  Having a spare pump and controller is also recommended.  These are the only active parts in a solar thermal installation and are thus the most likely to fail out of the box.

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29 Apr 09 | Solar Hot Water | Comments (0)

More Solar jobs in the Hudson Valley

14 Apr 09 | Solar Electric

In the good news department, another PV company has chosen the Hudson Valley to set up manufacturing facility.

SpectraWatt, Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon photovoltaic cells, announced it would move its headquarters from Oregon to the Hudson Valley Research Park in East Fishkill, initially creating over 100 jobs within the first year of operation. That will go up to 150 by the time phase one is up and running in two years.The company expects to be in production early in 2010. Its first factory line will have an initial manufacturing capacity of 60 megawatts; additional lines are being planned with site capacity exceeding 120 mw within the first two years of operation.

This is a good use of excess manufacturing space at the IBM East Fishkill’s Hudson Valley Research Park. Building 334 is currently a 300 mm and 200 mm chip fab for NXP (Formerly Philips Semiconductor). The press release goes on to cite an abundance of skilled labor plus many economic incentives offered by Dutchess County and the State of New York.

All of this is good news of course, for the local community and for the solar industry. I would like to see some type of solar thermal panel manufacturer in this area. Solar heating is still 4-5 times more efficient that photovoltaics. As proven by my own solar thermal installation plus many many more in the area, it works well in this climate and can make a significant reduction in residential energy use.

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14 Apr 09 | Solar Electric | Comments (0)

Where are those guys in their garages?

04 Apr 09 | Commentary

The electronic computer was invented during WWII, first to calculate the trajectories of artillery and naval gunfire, then to decode German communications.  After WWII the computer was slow to take hold for general use. It ended up being very expensive to build and operate, used mostly by the military, universities and large corporations.  It wasn’t until Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started tinkering in their garage that somebody considered making small computers for personal use.  Hewlett-Packard is another example of garage to boardroom development.

So where are the green inovators in their garages?  There are a few out there, toiling away at things, mostly out of necessity, some out of boredom, still others trying to stike it rich.  Solar and wind power are fairly low tech applications.  Nothing really new has come down the pike in quite a while.  There have been some  innovations, things like more efficient solar coatings, better PV cell technology, better batteries, most of which have been developed in labs.

The problem with creating patentable designs is theft of the design.  A good example of this is the intermittent windshield wiper.  Robert Kerns patented the circuit in 1964 then presented it to various automobile manufactures who rejected the idea.  Five years later, they began making cars with intermittent windshield wipers based on Kerns’ design.  Kerns sued and it took until the mid 1990’s for all the cases to be decided in his favor.  The 2008 movie Flash of Genius tells the story.

Perhaps this is something that the industry should keep in mind.  Steeling other people’s patentable designs then locking them into expensive decades long legal disputes can put a damper on creativity.  One might think it is not worth it to go through all the trouble of creating something if it is going to be stolen by a big company with lots of lawyers.

Just sayin’

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04 Apr 09 | Commentary | Comments (0)